Asthma is a serious public health problem in Morocco. However, due to low income and lack of healthcare coverage in the country many of Morocco’s citizens do not have access to anti-asthmatic drugs.
A study of the use of anti-asthmatic drugs in Morocco during the period 1999–2010 found that, although their use had increased slightly, it remains low. There is therefore much scope for increased generics use to facilitate availability of these drugs to the general population.
In Morocco, inhaled glucocorticosteroids are recommended as the first-line treatment for asthma, with beclomethasone making up the majority of this class (89.38%), followed by fluticasone (10.61%) and budesonide (less than 1%).
Between 1999 and 2010, the generic anti-asthmatics market share increased from 1.84 to 2.18 in terms of defined daily dose (DDD) per 1,000 inhabitants per day – a 1.2-fold increase. This compared to overall anti-asthmatics use, which increased from 3.91 to 14.47 DDD/1000 inhabitants/day – a 3.7-fold increase.
In 2010, generic anti-asthmatic drugs accounted for about 37.9% of the anti-asthmatic market; and inhaled glucocorticosteroids ranked first for generics consumption (0.83 DDD/1,000 inhabitants/day), followed by the short-acting inhaled beta-2-mimetic (0.73 DDD/1,000 inhabitants/day).
In recent years, efforts have been made by the Ministry of Health in Morocco to develop a national policy to encourage the manufacture of generic drugs in order to increase access to treatment. However, despite this, the use of generic anti-asthmatic drugs remains limited, with originator products, still under patent, dominating the market.
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Source: www.gabionline.net
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